Why can't suburbs be convenient?

     There were a lot of posts this week that really surprised me coming out in favor for the suburbs and I agree with them! There are a lot of really great examples of well designed funky suburbs that have interesting character and give the people that live there, space to breathe and enjoy having their own space. I completely understand the ideal of the "American Dream" with the white picket fences and land that you own. Here is my only issue with most suburbs that exist currently. There is no integrated support for the people that live there. What if there was community support areas designed into the plan that then encouraged people to live there and function as a community? I am going to set a scenario and you decide which one you would rather have. Obviously I am biased but I can cover why later. 

Scenario 1:

    You wake up every day on your 1 acre plot of land with a reasonable house in a sleepy cul de sac and you drive to work. You then finish work and on your way home, you remember you need groceries. So you just swing by, because it's only a few minutes out of the way. You get home and realize that you forgot orange juice (or whatever)  and have to run back up to the store to grab some. Luckily you only live a 15 minute drive from the store so you hop back in your car and scoot back up to the store to get your beloved beverage. Finally when you return home you unpack and decide to sit on the porch and enjoy your new deck. Sun goes down and you turn in. 

Mosaic District - outside DC

                                                    

I'on - Mt. Pleasant (charleston)

Scenario 2:

    You wake up every day on your .25 acre plot of land with the same reasonable house however now you live in a community like the two above. Your morning routine is the same except on your way out of the community you stop by the bakery at the front of the community and grab a coffee, say hello to a neighbor and then proceed to work. You finish work and on your way home, you remember you need groceries. Luckily there is a grocery at the front of your community so you hop on your bike (or you can drive the 3 minutes) and get your supplies. In this scenario you still forget that orange juice (or whatever)  and you bike|walk|drive back up to the store to get your beloved beverage. Finally when you return home you unpack and go for a walk around the community park. Sun goes down you turn in. 

Note: Sorry if there is bias.

My preference would be to lean towards the second scenario here. Less land sure, but you have community support areas in the same developed area and it's more convenient to live in an area like this. I believe that suburbs can be more than just a place to live. They can support small shops or a small grocery that can cater directly to what the community wants and needs. These types of places vary in scale from the Mosaic district near DC (mid rise multifamily) to I'on in Mt pleasant (single family residential) they both have the same idea of providing small shops and community needs at the front (or center in Mosaic's case). I know that I'on is expensive now, however given the success of the neighborhood, why can this typology of community become more common therefore cheaper over time? 

Thanks for reading, 

H